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VOLUME XVI, NO. 8 |
TEXAS DAIRY REVIEW |
AUGUST 2007 |
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Alfalfa workshop scheduled for Aug. 9 |
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Have shop…will travel |
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Dairymen are notorious for considering two major aspects when it comes to buying equipment: 1. Does it work properly? 2. Is it cost effective? Is there service after the sale? Albert Posthumus, owner of the Mixer Center in Stephenville and Friona, and APM Manufacturing has proudly served the dairy industry for the past 29 years. During this time, he has made it his business to provide dairymen with the finest equipment available on the market at the lowest possible price. His son, Rein, joined the company recently and works closely with his father.
When dairy equipment breaks down, there’s no question of the urgency to get it up and running as soon as possible. When Posthumus expanded his business from Stephenville to Friona to better serve the New Mexico dairy industry, he came up with ‘‘Have shop, will travel,’’ an innovative idea in the form of an 18-wheel truck and a 57 ft. trailer that literally takes the shop to the dairy site to fix broken down mixer wagons and other equipment. The trailer is stocked with various parts, a hydraulic hose press, a mig welder, and a five-ton crane that emerges from the side of the trailer to lift augers and broken planetaries.
When the ‘‘big’’ truck is not being used to fix big problems at dairies, it provides preventative maintenance and oil changes for mixer wagons, loader wagons and manure tanks, traveling to dairies from one town to the next throughout West Texas and New Mexico. Smaller trucks are on hand to take care of smaller problems. Posthumus said he feels he has an edge over other dealers because he and his staff of mechanics are very familiar with their customers’ dairy operations. ‘‘We don’t have to hire and send high pressured salesmen out to a dairy to sell equipment to them. We know what they need because most likely we’ve already been there working on their equipment.’’ Making recommendations to his customers when he sees the need to replace old equipment is another service Posthumus provides to help keep his dairy customer operations running efficiently and effectively. By sidestepping a full sales team, he keeps his own costs down and in turn, provides a lower cost to his customers than other dealers. Posthumus has spent a good part of his life pursuing his mechanical interests, building and repairing equipment. He started APM Manufacturing in Stephenville in 1991 with the unveiling of his first invention in the U.S., The Hay Jaw. The device cut square and round hay bales to go into a mixer wagon. However, it wasn’t long before the vertical mixer was born, and because it could cut up bales so much easier, The Hay Jaw became obsolete.
By 1996, Posthumus had gone into the mixer
wagon business full scale. He started as a dealer for Loewen and together
with them developed the familiar 1022 vertical mixer. ‘‘Within 10 weeks,
the mixer was born and we sold 54 of them that first year.’’ Since that time, Posthumus has added Schuler, Supreme and Trioliet to his line of mixer wagon dealerships. He is an importer of Schuitemaker, a wagon that picks up greenchop and compresses it, saving 50% of the transportation cost because it’s pressed into the wagon. ‘‘This year, there’s a madness for the Schuitemaker because of all the rain,’’ Posthumus said. Manure tanks are available to customers with or without alley scrapers and in the form of a truck mount or pull type. The Mixer Center is a dealer for the Loewen Honey Vac and the Schuitemaker. However, if a customer wants something custom built, APM Mfg. can build it. The Mixer Center is also a dealer for Mensh equipment, a sand wagon that hauls sand into freestall barns. ‘‘They’ve just come out with a self-propelled alley scraper,’’ Posthumus said. ‘‘We’re now developing a 3/8’’ thick, AR 200 wall, in the Loewen and Schuler Mixer Wagons,’’ Posthumus said. ‘‘The manufacturers agree that it makes more sense to to start off with a thicker wall and no liner, and about 6 years later, weld a steel liner into the mixer tub rather than having to remove an old, for example, stainless liner, which is very hard to do.’’ |
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TAD works on permit debacle |
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John Cowan, executive director of the Texas Association of Dairymen said recently that TAD is currently working on a response to the recent articles written about Bosque River dairies that have been printed in Waco’s local newspaper, the Waco Tribune. Cowan said TAD continues to work on the behalf on Texas dairy producers on issuance of CAFO permits. The organization is very concerned about the continued filing of comments by the City of Waco and the Sierra Club against permits for Bosque River dairies and that these comments are counterproductive to dairies implementing CAFO rules. Cowan said the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is responding to these comments by Waco which is delaying the permitting process. ‘‘We would encourage the City of Waco, the Sierra Club and the TCEQ to resolve these issues as quickly as possible so that we may get on with the permitting process.’’ Last month, several articles and photos appeared in the Waco Tribune showing the aftermath of an abnormal rainfall during the month of June and part of July. Some dairies had reported as much as 17 inches, giving cause to worry about lagoon breakage or runoff. However, dairy producers did what they are required to do by law in such cases and reported the possibility of breakage or runoff to the TCEQ. Waco and the Sierra Club have continued to stymie the dairy industry. They have concentrated their efforts on stalling the permit process by issuing complaints in one form or another against permits that have tentatively been approved by the TCEQ; have required public or contested case hearings, and seemed to delight in slandering the industry further with photos and articles of the recent rainfall. As one dairyman said, ‘‘it doesn’t matter what part of the world you’re in, when a dairy gets that much rainfall, it’s going to look bad. But, that doesn’t mean they’re not doing their job.’’ |
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Alfalfa workshop scheduled for Aug. 9 |
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Crop producers, cattle raisers and grass farmers who are interested in alfalfa should mark Aug. 9 on their calendars. That is the date for a regional alfalfa workshop in Farwell, sponsored by Texas Cooperative Extension and New Mexico State University. "We will cover a wide variety of production topics, from variety selection, fertility and irrigation to weed control, entomology and forage quality," said Calvin Trostle, Extension agronomist based at the Texas A&M University System Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Lubbock. "We will also visit a nearby alfalfa field." The workshop will begin with registration at 8:30 a.m. Central Time at the Farwell Community Center, 207 Ninth St., two blocks south of U.S. Highway 84. The program will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Lunch is included with registration. Trostle will present an overview of alfalfa production, followed by a session on weed control. Leonard Lauriault, New Mexico State, will discuss variety selection and the university's alfalfa testing program. Monti Vandiver, Extension integrated pest management agent, will provide an insect and pest update. Registration costs $20 per person and includes lunch and an alfalfa crop book containing Extension, New Mexico State and National Alfalfa Alliance information.
Those who plan to attend are encouraged to
pre-register by Aug. 7, by calling the Extension office in Parmer County
at 806-481-3619. Participants will qualify for continuing education units
approved for For more information, contact Trostle at 806-746-6101; Mark Marsalis, New Mexico State agronimist in Clovis, at 505-985-2292; or the Extension office in Parmer County. |
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H.R. 2419 contains provisions for dairy industry |
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‘‘The House version of the Farm Bill is a positive step forward in passing a 2007 Farm Bill that is good for the U.S. dairy industry,’’ says Tom Camerlo, of Florence, Colo., chairman of DFA’s Board of Directors. ‘‘From the extended price support program to new energy and conservation programs, the bill includes a variety of programs that will improve the economic viability of dairy farmers.’’ For the past several months, DFA has worked on the Farm Bill in conjunction with the National Milk Producers Federation, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives and several other agricultural groups. In addition to a daily presence on Capitol Hill, DFA members and staff made countless phone calls and personal visits, and sent numerous faxes and e-mails to their representatives. ‘‘Grassroots efforts are so important in the legislative process,’’ said Camerlo. ‘‘Our members who have taken the time to contact their representatives over the past few days, weeks and months can be proud that their work has made a difference.’’ DFA will continue its support of the Farm Bill when the debate resumes in the U.S. Senate in September. |
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Back to school starts WHEN this year??? |
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It won’t be long until the pitter patter and chitter chatter of students will be heard throughout the hallowed halls of Texas schools when all classes begin this year on Aug. 27, 2007. The later statewide starting date has given teachers additional time to prepare for school curriculums while students are able to get in a few more days at the pool, another shopping spree, or a mini-vacation with mom and dad. But, parents aren’t nearly as happy about the later starting date as their offspring and are getting a little antsy and anxious for the backpackers to load up and begin the fall semester. One principal at a local area school laughed and said parents are burning up the telephone lines inquiring about the start date. ‘‘Oh my gosh. It doesn’t start ‘til when?’’ shrieked one parent while another exclaimed, ‘‘you’ve got to be kidding! Not ‘til Aug. 27th???’’ ‘‘How much longer can it be!’’ Last summer, the Texas lawmakers passed legislation that amended the start date for public schools for the 2007-2008 school year. The amendment states, ‘‘a school district is prohibited from beginning instruction before the fourth Monday in August.’’ The only Texas public schools that are not affected by the new amendment are schools that operate year-round. The extra time will allow educators to prepare innovative lessons for their students, explore fresh materials, implement different strategies they learned at summer workshops and set goals for students to accomplish during the upcoming school year. ‘‘Each school year is unique,’’ one teacher explained. ‘‘That is one reason why I like my job. Education is always changing. We often have new and different policies along with different children, staff members, parents and ideas.’’ Educators are not the only ones preparing for the school year. Retail stores such as Wal-Mart have had their school supplies stacked up and on display in their stores for the past few weeks. All retail stores will soon be inundated with Texas shoppers who will participate in the tax-free shopping weekend coming up Aug. 17, 18, and 19. The law exempts most clothing and footwear priced under $100 from sales and use taxes, which could save shoppers about $8 on every $100 they spend. Backpack exemptions applies to those under $100 used by elementary and secondary students only. The new exemption during the sales tax holiday includes backpacks with wheels, provided they can also be worn on the back like a traditional backpack, and messenger bags. The exemption does not include items that are reasonably defined as luggage, briefcases, athletic/duffle/gym bags, computer bags, purses or framed backpacks. Ten or fewer backpacks can be purchased tax-free at one time without providing an exemption certificate to the seller. With the new school year, comes improved and more nutritious school menus and innovative ways to encourage students to eat breakfast. Several studies have been made on children’s behavior and their ability to learn based on good nutrition habits. A Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital of children in Philadelphia and Baltimore showed that children who regularly ate breakfast had better standardized test scores, better behavior, and were less hyperactive than children who skipped breakfast. Another study at Oxford University in London compared low Glycemic Index (GI) breakfasts to high GI breakfasts, which were consumed by 9-12 year old children. The children who ate the high GI breakfasts (sugary breakfasts) tended to eat more at lunch. It is the opinion of the researchers that low GI breakfasts could be an important factor for controlling obesity in children. An example of a good breakfast for children is: an egg, a slice of whole grain toast with nut butter, a piece of fruit and a glass of low fat milk.
Dairy Max, funded by dairy farmers, is an
organization established to promote and increase sales and the demand of
dairy products through schools, media, retailers, fast food services and
consumers, said Nan Cramer, Dairy Max program director for school
nutrition and marketing. In addition to the 3-A-Day for Dairy program, a
nutrition education program, Dairy Max has concentrated efforts recently
to make milk a more enticing product to students. Grants are available to
schools that convert to plastic bottles from cartons, 3-A-Dairy for Dairy
coolers or vending machines, and to implement breakfast programs, such as
‘‘grab and go,’’ ‘‘breakfast after 1st period,’’ and ‘‘breakfast in the
classroom.’’ These types of programs are designed to increase students’
desire to eat a nutritional breakfasts which includes milk. |
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are Copyright © 2005-2007 TDR Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved. |
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The
truck is also equipped with a full living quarters for mechanics to stay
in if the job is not completed by the end of the day. ‘‘The truck does not
leave the site until the problem is resolved,’’ Posthumus said.
